General merchandise stores fell 9.7 in December, due to department store closures.

Meanwhile, sales at electronics and appliance stores fell 12.1 per cent following a double-digit gain in November.

Sporting goods, hobby, book and music store sales fell 1.8 per cent, while furniture and home furnishing store sales dropped 1.3 per cent.

Retail sales were down in every province.

Last month, the Bank of Canada trimmed its expectations for economic growth in 2013 and governor Mark Carney said the need to raise borrowing costs was “less imminent.”

Analysts interpreted the statement as signal the bank’s trendsetting policy rate would remain at one per cent well into 2014.

Among the eight components tracked by Statistics Canada, prices rose in six of them with the transport ion and clothing and footwear components being the exceptions as they dropped 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

Food prices rose 1.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis in January, while household operations, furnishings and equipment gained 0.6 per cent. Health and personal care gained 0.3 per cent.

Recreation, education and reading gained 0.3 per cent, while alcohol and tobacco were up 1.1 per cent.